In the last couple of years, the design community has been all about modern…modern luxury, farmhouse modern, modern rustic, mid-century modern. And while we don’t see that going away anytime soon – we believe that the New Classic design style will be coming to the forefront.
We’re calling it New Classic because the word “traditional” has some connotations that we don’t believe suit this style anymore. The old traditional style was more stuffy and conformist than many of our clients could actually implement in their homes.
Here are some examples of New Classic rooms:
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Four Key Elements of New Classic Design Style
Detail focused furniture.
Choose a sofa with nailheads, an interesting curved back, great turned legs or tufting. Find a chair with a great exposed wood back – or a richly tufted front in a surprising fabric. Wingback chairs are a staple of classic design.
Light fixtures that are elegant and classic.
You can use any material you like – gold and silver are encouraged because traditional design looks great with a little added bling. Also, try to keep your light fixtures symmetrical – this will immediately give your room the new traditional vibe.
New classic is not minimalistic.
“More is more” is the mantra of traditional – use rich silks and velvets to really embrace this style. Benches are a great way to add a velvet touch to a room, as are great window coverings.
No flat walls.
There’s a big reason you’ve been seeing so much board and batten and shiplap around the design community lately. The days of flat, boring walls are coming to a close. We love texture on walls – whether that be through wood accents (board and batten, shiplap, thick molding…coffered ceilings count too!) or wallpaper. Wallpaper was the bain of many homes in the 80’s – but now people are embracing this look again and it’s so pretty! Again – more is more in new traditional design.
Here’s a vision board of ideas for a New Classic living room…all items can be found at by Design except for the wallpaper, which is from the wonderful Hygge & West.
Want even more design suggestions? We’re here to help!
